The Despondency of Victory
by Gh0StWr1teR1
Summary: Losing to a sheltered bossy little girl had really taken a bite out of his ego, it was the beginning of a new battle. Ryou's POV following his childhood with Alice. A series of one-shots.
1. Chapter 1

_'__Just how many hundreds matches of matches have they had?'_

_'__It's been two years since the first match… and it's finally here!'_

_'__IT'S HIS FIRST WIN!' _

Ryou stood frozen in shock, two years… ever since his first defeat to Alice a new fire had lit. Losing to a sheltered bossy little girl had really taken a bite out of his ego, it was the beginning of a new battle. Being top chef from a small port town seemed insignificant if a foreign child could effortlessly beat him. This day had seemed slightly farfetched, despite having no doubts in his own capabilities Ryou couldn't help but be slightly bewildered at the vast amount of knowledge Alice possessed when it came to molecular gastronomy.

The cheers of his old customers faded into background noises after seeing the expression on Alice's face… Not once in these two years had he seen tears in her eyes. Slamming her hands down on the table she stormed up to the bewildered victor her face flushed red with shame, embarrassment and anger.

"WE'RE HAVING ANOTHER MATCH TOMORROW! OK?! RYOU-KUN." She shouted a slight edge of desperation crept into her voice. Ryou said nothing staring at the girl in front of him with wide eyes. He didn't want to admit how disturbing her distress made him feel. Despite this, not once did he break eye contact with his rival such weakness would never be forgiven, by either of them.

"…Alright… Milady." Ryou managed to say with a steady voice, his harsh upbringing had helped in masking his emotions such as trepidation and fear from his voice as Alice's red eyes continued to challenge him intensely. Her brows lifted in surprise and her blush faded as she slowly took in his words. Ryou turned not knowing how long he'd be able to keep up his indifferent stoic persona whilst watching her face. "I'll face you as many times as you want." He continued, retying his bandana to his wrist.

The noises of the room had either faded after Alice's outburst or was simply blocked out by both young chefs as Alice continued to stare blankly at the boy she had tried so hard to make as her aide. Slowly Alice let herself believe the meaning behind his words… up until now she had no solid reason to be certain of his loyalty to her, Ryou viewed her as more of a challenge than a companion… by telling her he would continue their cooking contests he was practically vowing his allegiance. A nagging fear had settled itself in the back of her mind on what Ryou's imminent victory, 'For what reason should I continue to follow someone whose skills are inferior to my own?' in her mind those words could have easily come from Ryou's mouth. Finally Alice could put her mind at ease, she couldn't help but beam, working hard and being persistent had payed off in the end.

"Then if I win next time, you have to speak politely to me! Ok?" sang Alice, back to her cheerful, effervescent self.

"Don't screw with me… like I can talk like that with a woman!" Ryou shot back, glad of the distance he had put between them. It scared him how relieved he felt… she was just a woman… no a girl, how could the maintenance of one smile mean so much to him?

Ryou stalked back to his old room, it had been a while since he'd slept on his hammock… The room had a musky, stale smell to it along with the usual damp fishy stench. Alice had literally turned his life upside down, two years before he'd never even notice the damp smell of wood or the crudely cheap alcohol with seemingly had soaked itself into the floorboards along with the bile of vomit. Not that it really bothered him now… he was used to it… the smells just seemed that much stronger now that he was used to freshly laundered bed sheets after staying at five star hotels on their travels around the world. Alice's smiling face re-entered his thoughts, that smile… his victory of this contest had threatened its existence. No, he'd have to ensure that Alice continued to smile… and punish anything which caused her to frown. He wasn't sure what this feeling was… it felt like he needed to protect her, it was strange… Ryou managed to convince himself these irrational feelings were due to his new position which actually allowed him to watch out for others and not need to constantly think of his own day to day survival… surely that's all he felt towards the girl… He simply felt grateful for the opportunity she had given him… nothing more…

"Ryou! Come on! You proooomise me you'd show me around the best fish market! I'm definitely going to beat you tomorrow. Also, you'd better not get a big head for winning to me ONCE!" called Alice boldly waltzing into the male sleeping quarters. Ryou heard a few gasps of shock from the room next door, females let alone young girls never walked in on their own accord. There was a strictly no women policy behind the pub, typical that Alice would ignore the unspoken rule. If there was one thing he'd learnt about Alice, it was her non-existent perception of fear. Truth be told, Ryou wasn't all that comfortable with Alice's natural male attraction. For one thing, she was so pale along with her red eyes albinos were already conspicuous she was also deemed to be beautiful (not that he'd admit it to her… ever), such a combination evoked lust in some unsavoury characters… whether they be pirates or some corporate businessman their gazes made him more uncomfortable than her.

"Yes, yes I just needed to sort some things out." He replied glumly, meeting Alice in the dimly lit hallway. She beamed at him once more.

"Good! LET'S GO!" She cheered, grabbing his arm and half dragging him outside. People from the town cringed at the way she treated him, knowing all too well how foolish it was to cross Kurokiba Ryou… however Nakiri Alice was immune to fear… that or she knew the hold she had over him…

**Hallo! Thanks for reading! I've slightly edited this story and decided to make this a series of oneshots featuring Alice and Ryou.**


	2. Chapter 2

"Ryou! Ryou-kuuun! Wake up!" whispered Alice as excitedly as her hushed voice allowed. She kneaded his arm as she spoke in an attempt to wake up her aide more efficiently. Truth be told, Ryou was actually awake the moment she entered his room. Despite spending a few years in the safety of Alice's residence or hotels teaming with security guards, Ryou couldn't shake the habits he'd developed from experiencing a rough childhood, such as being an extremely light sleeper. It was probably one of the reasons he always felt tired, never quite falling into a sleep deep enough to rest properly.

"Come oon! Get up! I can tell you're awake!" she whispered more harshly, now jabbing him in the stomach to be more persuasive. Ryou groaned, not entirely sure if she aimed for his kidney or if the location of her jabbing was simply extremely bad luck… or fortunate in Alice's case. Either way it was enough of an incentive for Ryou to roll on his side away from where she knelt, pointedly ignoring her attempts to get him out of bed. Ryou heard her huff behind him, not needing to turn to see her patented frustrated pout she most likely wore. Most of her expressions were catalogued in his mind, at one point he wondered when he had become an expert on her character but quickly shoved the thoughts to the back of his mind. He still wasn't entirely comfortable with the amount of time he unconsciously spent making sure her life was nothing less than perfect.

The sudden gush of warm air blown into his ear caused him to jerk up into a sitting position.

"What do you think you're doing?" He hissed, holding a hand to his ear defensively. Alice grinned broadly.

"Waking you up!" she sang, delicately holding a finger to her lips to indicate for him to speak quietly. "We're escaping!" she continued with a wicked gleam in her eye. Ryou pulled back slightly, feeling the beginnings of a tiring day. How did she find so much energy so early in the morning?

"What do you mean 'escaping'?' He asked reproachfully.

"We're going to the theme park!" she grinned, holding up a back pack most likely holding their provisions for a day trip. "Mother would insist on making Dave and Lucas come if I asked her, but then we'd never get to have fun." She pouted, obviously not happy with the prospect of two security guards accompanying following them around all day.

"Hmm." Replied Ryou, his heart rate was slowly going down to an acceptably speed after Alice's new 'waking up method'.

"So?! Come one, what are you waiting for? Let's get going!" she whispered excitedly, quietly jumping up.

"I need to get changed first." Said Ryou flatly. Alice crooked her head for a moment, meeting his expectant gaze guilelessly. "Unless you want to watch me change." He continued, not exactly offering to strip in front of her. She let out a small "Oh", before turning around to let her aide get ready. Ryou rolled his eyes, not exactly pleased with the prospect of changing with a girl in his room, but at least she wasn't watching anymore.

"Ok. I'm ready." He announced after pulling on a pair of jeans and a black long sleeve, not bothering to brush his messy hair. Alice spun on the spot, beaming as she handed him the back pack. Ryou had long stopped, questioning Alice's spontaneous suggestions. As ridiculous and energy consuming as they were, it still took less effort to simply be pulled along rather than stand in her way and be a voice of reason. If his mistress wished to climb out of his window, as a tree was conveniently placed for one to climb down a floor without walking down a flight of stairs to ground level, and run away to a theme park for a day. So be it, wherever Alice decided to go, he would follow.

**Thanks so much for reading! This is definitely my favourite pairing for Shokugeki no Soma :3**

**I'm open for suggestions or any ideas, reviews would be helpful (if you're interested in reading more similar fanfics… if not, and this was a complete waste of your life don't bother…)**

**Here's a bunny, cause why not? **

**(\/)  
( o o)  
( _ _ )o I was super excited when I stumbled across this bunny.**


	3. Chapter 3

Alice had a bad habit of never finishing the films she put on. She'd get about two thirds of the way through before nodding off. Ryou used to resent the way she forced him to sit beside her, despite both of them knowing full well she wasn't going to stay conscious. He wasn't sure when he started to pay more attention to Alice's sleeping face than the film itself. It also remained a mystery as to why being left with the task of turning off the TV and clearing up the mess of popcorn (which somehow managed to reach a meter radius) didn't outweigh the positives of her movie nights.

Sometimes Alice would flop sideways clutching a pillow to her chest as she dozed, and other times she'd slump onto his shoulder. For some reason she insisted on sitting on the carpet, using the couch as a back rest instead of utilising the furniture's intended purpose. He vaguely remembered her saying something about making the entire experience more exciting, it didn't really concern Ryou either way. He had no qualms about sitting on the floor, but he doubted Alice would be as used to hard surfaces as he. Her preferred seating arrangements didn't really follow any logical thought process, but then again neither did majority of her habits. Ryou used to scoff at her antics, convinced it was simply a side effect from growing up with the world at her disposal, again he wasn't quite sure when her habits leaned more towards endearing rather than simply strange.

Tonight was another of her movie nights. Ryou was quite certain that Alice had fallen asleep earlier than normal, not that he was complaining. There was no way in hell he'd let her catch him watching her while she was awake. As much as he found her ever changing moods and expressions amusing, her sleeping face was equally, if not more so, enjoyable. Alice was the kind of person who wore so many masks, you were never quite sure who she was underneath. There was something special about her unguarded and natural expressions as she slept. There was no one she needed to impress, no expectations she needed to maintain. The fact that hardly anyone had ever seen this side of Alice also made it extra special.

"Milady, it's time to go to bed." Said Ryou, gently moving the shoulder she currently leant on. Alice made a non-committal noise, responding by burrowing her face further into his neck. The credits had started rolling a few minutes ago, it'd taken a little self-convincing for Ryou to disturb her slumber.

Ryou sighed, reaching over for the remote with minimal movement as to not fully wake her. The disc could wait till tomorrow morning, as could the scatterings of popcorn strewed across the carpet.

"Come on, up we get." He said tiredly, not wanting her to get a cramped neck from sleeping awkwardly for too long.

"Nooo." She moaned groggily, "Don't wanna move." Ryou sighed at her petulant mannerism. That part of their movie nights hadn't changed over the years either. For someone so active in the morning, waking her up any other time of day was near impossible.

"You can't sleep here." He said, poking a soft cheek. Alice's nose twitched in response.

"Carry me then." She murmured.

"Your room in literally ten meters away." Sighed Ryou, letting a little exasperation enter his voice.

"It shouldn't be a problem for you then." She replied, showing no signs of moving by herself.

"Alright then. Get on." He said resignedly, turning away from her so should could latch on for a piggy-back. Alice hummed contentedly looping her arms around his neck.

A few years ago, Ryou would've shied away from close contact, especially with a girl, but now it felt natural. He wouldn't say Alice was light, but weighing any less would've caused concern, and he found the warmth and weight on his back oddly comforting. He'd complained about the ridiculousness of how close her room was to the TV, but secretly wished it were further away. Her silver hair tickled as it slid down his collar bone, making Ryou even more aware of the sweet scent her shampoo offered. Had he been a more self-conscious kind of person, Ryou was sure he would've been blushing furiously. He wasn't though, it simply felt natural now, however imagining piggy-backing anyone else but Alice was definitely out of his comfort zone.

They reached the door to her bedroom far sooner than Ryou would've liked. He wasn't the kind of person to walk extra slowly to extend the moment, this wasn't the last time he'd have the opportunity to hold her. He pushed the door open with one foot, padding over to her bed as quietly as possible, however the floorboards still squeaked in protest despite his greatest efforts.

Placing Alice onto the bed was anything but graceful, more like slowly dropping her onto the mattress than anything else. She mumbled something incomprehensible, half consciously pulling her doona closer. Ryou allowed a small smile to slip past, moments like this weren't rare, but that didn't make them any less special.

He quietly padded out of the room, this time successfully without squeaking floorboards, casting one more look at her sleeping figure before closing the door.

He was probably in love with her.

But he wasn't about to do anything drastic to change their current relationship.

It was comfortable as it was at the moment, and despite the views of others, he wasn't wasting his time on anything.

He was content, he was happy. Life isn't a race, and some things weren't worth rushing.

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**Thanks for reading **

**I'm pretty open for suggestions if anyone has some ideas. I feel like this ship will get more popular once the anime catches up to the manga :3 **

**Haha, wow I feel completely technologically inept, only just now after the many chapters I have written... did I notice there was a horizontal line function on Doc Manager. I was using underscore for ages...**


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